Need You
by crazy-wild-and-free
Summary: Sequel to ACB/AHAC - Sometimes need outweighs everything else. Hayley kept telling herself she's doing the right thing, sometimes believing it. But there was always something to remind her of what she was giving up, bringing her closer to her breaking point...which was much closer than she thought. And need would in fact prove to outweigh everything else. Part 3 {Hayley/Elijah}
1. Buttons and Tantrums

**Hey everyone!**

**I...we have all been going through some major Haylijah withdrawals as of late and my muse isn't very happy about it, which is surprisingly a good thing because it's driving her to let me write our way through this awful withdrawal.**

**I've had many different directions for this one idea for a while now but I've finally decided on one and am sticking to it. ****This is for all of you who wish that the storyline on the show was going differently and that we were getting many more Haylijah scenes and mentions. I really do hope that you will all enjoy this!**

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters. I only own the plot._

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_Sometimes need outweighs everything else. Hayley __kept telling herself she was doing the right thing, and sometimes she believed it. But there was always something that would remind her of what she was giving up and bring her one step closer to her breaking point. Her breaking point was closer than she thought. And need would, in fact, prove to outweigh everything else._

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**Chapter 1 - Buttons and Tantrums**

It hurt. It physically and emotionally hurt. The emotional and physical pain Hayley was feeling damn near rivaled how she'd felt when she'd first come to after being turned into a hybrid and felt the need to find her baby, to find Hope. The ironic thing about it was that the pain she was feeling now was because of Hope. Everything she was doing now was to make New Orleans a safer place for Hope so that she could come back and live in peace, and ironically that was the cause of her current emotional and physical pain. Being a mother was even harder than she thought it'd be, not that it should be surprising since she wasn't just any ordinary mother. But, still. Why couldn't it be easier? Oh, yeah, that's right...because nothing about her life was easy, it never had been and never would be.

Hayley stared at herself in the mirror, taking in the sight of the cringe worthy look on her face as well as her tear and make-up stained cheeks and her disheveled hair. The same hair she'd been literally trying to rip out of her head only moments before when she'd been in the midst of throwing a tantrum that a little kid who got their favorite toy taken away would have thrown. Well, minus the clothes and broken furniture laying haphazardly all over the room behind her. No kid could ever do that much damage, not that they'd even think of it...not that anything they went through would be any reason to tear up an entire room in blind rage and pain.

It was all becoming too damn much for her to handle. She wanted nothing more than to be able to lead a normal life, if she had taken Esther's offer before she very well could have. But, she couldn't do that to Hope. It would have been selfish and awful of her to have allowed herself a normal life and to leave Hope behind. Hayley knew how it felt to be abandoned and she'd be damned if she'd ever knowingly and purposely abandon her own child, her one and only child. She wanted better for Hope...not worse, not the same...better. Even if that meant giving up all chances at her own true happiness.

As awful as it sounded, Hope could only make her but so happy. Hayley hated the thought of it but it was the truth. When it came down to it, all everyone wanted was to be loved and to have someone to love. Hayley wasn't any different, even despite the less than desired circumstances. Hayley had someone to love, she had Hope...she also had _him_, even though it could never be in the way that she loved Hope because in order to love _him_ like that she would have to be selfish and put herself first. Hayley even had someone to love her, two someone's actually...Elijah and Jackson. But, one of the two didn't count because she'd never be able to love him back. Yes, she cared about Jackson, but she didn't love him and she wouldn't...ever. She already loved one of them and it was the former.

She had to put Hope first, though, and that meant giving up the someone she loved and settling for the someone who loved her but that she'd only ever care for back. Hayley would be happy once she had Hope back for good, but there would always be something missing...a void of happiness that could never be filled by anyone other than _him. _That void being filled wouldn't, couldn't happen. Not now. Hope was the number one priority, Hayley was now second priority and always would be.

Hayley's tears began sliding freely down her face again. She felt like she was being a bad mother for even thinking about it, but if she could she'd put an end to everything. The ritual wouldn't happen and Hayley would selfishly choose to be with the one she loved over the one she had to settle for. But, she couldn't. It wouldn't be right to do that. The way things were happening now was what was right. But, why did the right thing have to feel so wrong?

"It's not fair, damn it!" Hayley hissed through clenched teeth, her tears stinging her eyes as she grabbed the mirror from the wall and turned quickly to throw it across the room where it landed somewhere along the floor with the rest of the rooms now damaged contents.

Why couldn't she have both of them? Why couldn't she have both Hope and Elijah? The facts were clear to anyone who cared to notice them, Hayley needed Hope...but, she needed Elijah just as much.

Hayley surveyed what had minutes before looked like her bedroom, but now looked like the leftover mess of a really bad earthquake. After staring at the damage for a while, she deduced that it was all Klaus' fault. Ten minutes before now, Hayley had been as fine as she could have been at that moment in time. She'd once again convinced herself that she was doing the right thing and she was content with what she was doing. But, then she'd ran into him in the courtyard when she'd returned to the quarter from the bayou and her contentment didn't last much longer after that. Well, actually, she'd sought him out so maybe it was partially her fault...but mainly his. Klaus knew exactly what to do and what to say to push her buttons, and he was angry at her so he didn't hesitate to push those buttons.

The argument that they had, or lack thereof since Klaus had pushed her buttons before they could really get into it, was still fresh in her mind given the fact that it had happened only about ten minutes before. The events after the argument of sorts were still very clear in her mind as well...

_After making sure that Jackson was able to handle himself after the confrontation with Klaus, Hayley made her way to the quarter to find Klaus. She didn't have to look for long, she found him in the courtyard drinking a bottle of whiskey._

_"What the hell, Klaus?" she hissed as she stormed over to him, knocking the cup he was holding from his hands._

_"Well, hello to you to," Klaus smirked up at her, acting as if nothing was out of the normal and managing to anger Hayley even more._

_Hayley glared at him. "Don't you dare act like everything's all fine and dandy!"_

_Klaus ignored her, instead asking, "Shouldn't you be out at the bayou tending to your fiancés wounds?"_

_Hayley cringed at his use of the "F" word, it was true but the word just didn't sit well with her. She knew why it didn't, but she couldn't bring herself to think of the reason because if she did things would go downhill even more than they already were. However, despite Hayley not wanting to go there, that's exactly where Klaus wanted to go and when he wanted something...nine times out of ten, he got it._

_She scowled at Klaus, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't even go there, Klaus!" Hayley warned him._

_"Still protective of him, I see." Klaus chuckled. "You just keep twisting the knife deeper and deeper." He shook his head and tsked._

_Hayley narrowed her eyes at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"I talked to Elijah not that long ago," he told her._

_Hayley felt a small wave of pain shoot from her stomach to her heart upon hearing **his **name. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could, which didn't come out very well._

_"I could practically sense the jealously and pain emanating from him over the phone when I informed him of how protective you were of Jackson during our confrontation earlier," Klaus answered, that smirk he wore so well still very evident on his face._

_Hayley felt the wave of pain shoot through her again. The thought of how Elijah must have felt nearly made her knees buckle out from underneath her. She couldn't bare to see or hear of him being in pain. Especially not with her as the cause._

_"I know you're angry at me right now, but that was uncalled for," Hayley yelled angrily, trying to hide the evidence in her tone that he had gotten to her...not that she needed to hide it, Klaus knew very well that Elijah was one of Hayley's biggest buttons and he'd pushed it._

_"Too late now," he replied, shrugging his shoulders as he leaned over to pick the cup from earlier up off of the floor and proceeded to pour himself a new one. "I'm sure Elijah will manage to overcome it, you're not the first love he's lost..." Klaus paused and grinned mischievously up at Hayley._

_Hayley didn't like that look and she was not at all wanting to hear what came next out of Klaus's mouth._

_Klaus finished his thought slowly, making sure that Hayley heard every word very clearly, "And you certainly won't be the last."_

_Hayley's button had not only been pushed now, a heavy cube of ice had been dropped on top of it so it would stay pushed for as long as it took for it to melt. Hayley felt her entire body begin to shake in a fit of rage. She had no control over herself now as her tantrum started, all the built up anger and pain and all of her other emotions poured out into her actions. She was like a tornado going through the courtyard as she screamed bloody murder and grabbed tables and chairs and anything she could get a hold of and threw them across the room, against walls, etc. She didn't pay any attention to Klaus during her outburst, but she was sure that he had sat there the entire time wearing that damn smirk on his face._

_After Hayley was finished breaking every piece of furniture she could get her hands on, she still had some anger and pain and other emotions left behind begging to be let out, which is what led her to her room and eventually led to her anger and pain turning into tears and depression. After most of her furniture had met a similar fate as the furniture from downstairs, Hayley had surveyed the damage and only then had she realize that in her blind rage she'd emptied out her entire closet as well. It didn't seem like much and wouldn't have caught her attention if only a certain article of clothing hadn't caught her eye._

_In the midst of a pile of her clothes laid one of Elijah's suit jackets, more specifically...it was the jacket that Elijah had given her when they'd first met. Hayley vamp sped over to it, human speed would've been enough since she was enclosed in her room, but she wanted...no she needed the jacket as quickly as she could get it. Hayley leaned over and picked the jacket up, bringing it to her nose...his scent was still all over it, clear as day, even after more than a year had passed. Hayley had never given it back to him, nor did she have any plans to in the near future._

_Hayley had kept it hidden in the back of her closet since then, it had become a comfort to her rather quickly. She had taken it out every once in a while when she needed to feel safe and secure. The closer she and Elijah had gotten, though, the less she needed it and before long she'd forgotten she had it. If only she had remembered it had been in there sooner, it would have helped her a lot during the long distances she and Elijah had gone through as of late. She missed him so damn much...so damn much that it hurt, physically and emotionally._

_Hayley slipped into the jacket and wrapped it around herself as if it were a warm cocoon, which to her it was. It was her go to comfort object, it was similar to a child's blankie. Instead of a blankie, she had one of Elijah's suit jackets...and knowing that was enough to make her smile for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. It wasn't Elijah himself, but it was as close as she was going to get anytime soon. Or was it?_

"Hayley!" a familiar voice called out all of a sudden, breaking her away from her memories.

Hayley shook her head to bring herself back to reality and turned to the door where the voice came from. Her eyes widened slightly. "Jackson, what are you doing here?" she asked, curiously. "You should be at the bayou healing," she told him, trying to hide the slight annoyance in her voice.

She just wanted to be alone right now. He didn't know that, but she didn't think that she would have to worry about him showing up considering the circumstances surrounding the day.

"You seemed angry when you left," Jackson answered. "I wanted to make sure that you didn't do anything you'd regret." He looked around the room, a look of concern and surprise on his face. "What happened...you did all of this?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers.

Hayley nodded her head.

"And downstairs?" he wondered out loud.

Hayley nodded her head again.

Jackson's attention suddenly switched from her face to lower. He frowned as he took in what she was wearing. "Is that _his_ jacket?" he growled out his question, already knowing the answer.

Hayley felt the need to frown and scold him for his reaction, but his question only reminded her of something that she'd thought of while she'd been reminiscing about what had happened not that long ago. She had a bigger need to do something else, and Jackson wasn't a part of that need.

"Go lay down somewhere and let yourself heal faster, Jackson," Hayley told him, reaching into her front jean pocket for her keys. "I have somewhere that I need to go."

Jackson frowned. "You're going to see _him_, aren't you?" he asked, a hint of jealously in his tone.

Hayley ignored him and spoke again, "Go lay down, Jackson."

She walked past him without another word and left the room, leaving a very jealous and physically hurt Jackson in her wake.

There were more important things for her to do than to get into a fight with him about Elijah right now...like going to see Elijah.

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_**Alright, so there you all have it! **__**Let me know what you thought. Review, please?!**_

I know that this chapter only had a few mentions of Elijah in it, but I promise you that there will be another chapter to this and he will definitely be in it so be on the look out for it in the next few days or so.

_**_**Until next time!**_**_


	2. Selfish or Selfless is the Big Question

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**I can't begin to describe how ecstatic I am about the support I got for the first chapter. It means a lot to me knowing that what I'm writing is being perceived well. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or put the story on their alert list!**_

**_Before I forget, after thinking about it...I realized that this story fits well with my previous one-shots, Always Come Back and Always Have A Choice. So for any one who wanted to read a continuance of those one-shots you can consider this the continuance. On my AO3 account these three stories are all a part of a series titled, The Course of _True Love Never Runs Smooth.**

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot._

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**Chapter 2 - Selfish or Selfless is the Big Question**

Hayley wasn't being selfish, well, alright, maybe she was but not in the long run. She would still go through with the ritual as planned, so her doing this now was only selfish for the time being. If it was, in fact, even selfish at all...selfish acts don't normally leave you hurt in the end, and what she was doing would definitely leave her hurt once it was all said and done. So, no her actions weren't selfish...not necessarily. Oh, screw it, if needing to see Elijah and going to see Elijah was selfish, then so-freaking-be it. Hayley had made up her mind as to what she was doing and she wasn't going to change it, she had gotten too far to just turn around now. She needed to see Elijah and she would see him, damn it.

The ritual was only days away now, but she still had time to see him once more before it would without a doubt be impossible to see him anymore. Even before now, she could barely keep herself from breaking and going to see him, and now she was proving to herself and everyone else who paid any mind that she had no long term control when it came to Elijah what-so-ever. The second she felt the need as opposed to only wanting to go see him, she didn't think twice about getting into her car and driving the few hour drive to see him. After the ritual took place, things would surely be even more difficult than they are now...and to say the least, if this was how she handled needing to see Elijah...oh boy was she screwed? How would this ritual ever work when Hayley had very little self control when it came to Elijah and she was suddenly beginning to feel the need to see him and not just wanting to see him anymore?

After a stop for gas and a couple of stops along the way to figure out what exactly she was going to say and/or do when she got there, Hayley arrived at the safe house at a quarter after 11. She parked in the driveway and shut off her car, taking her keys out of the ignition and putting them into the cup holder, making no immediate move to get out. She sat there in the silent darkness, laying her head on the steering wheel and only then started to think of what would happen once she had to leave again. She may not have been selfish, so to speak, by deciding to go see Elijah but she sure was being stupid now that she thought of it. The need to see him had clouded her judgment and she hadn't thought, she had just done. By seeing him and then having to leave him again...and probably for good until Hope's at least old enough to handle herself...it would make it so much harder on both of them.

In hindsight, Hayley was being selfish...she was being selfish with Elijah. It was hard on both of them enough as it was and now she was just going to make it that much harder now by showing up here. Her need to see Elijah and the fact that she went along with the need was indeed very selfish of her. She couldn't bare to hurt him anymore than she already had. If it meant keeping him from hurting more, then she'd deal with the pain of needing to see him but not being able to. She'd rather bare the brunt of the pain and heartache herself than have to see or hear of him going through it as well. That was the selfless thing to do, and now Hayley had somehow managed to convince herself that the selfless thing to do was the right thing to do right now as well. But, damn it once again...why did the right thing have to feel so very wrong?

Hayley lifted her head and sat up straight, reaching over to grab her keys from the cup holder before she could change her mind again. She was about to place the key into the ignition when she heard a knock on her passenger side window. She turned her head and looked out through the glass only to find Elijah standing there. Hayley fought an inward battle with herself for a few seconds...should she let him in or not...before giving into her need to not only see him but to actually be near him and pressing the unlock button to let him in.

"_Change of plans_," she thought to herself.

Hayley turned back to look out in front of her and gripped the steering wheel tightly in her hands. She listened as the passenger side door opened and then closed moments later. A wave of calm suddenly overcame her once she felt his presence next to her and she easily loosened her tight grip on the steering wheel, her hands dropping down and settling into her lap. Her need to see and to be near him were being satisfied and in turn it had quite the calming effect.

She kept her visible attention on the dark night through her windshield out of fear that if she looked at him, need would take control of her once again and she'd lose herself to being selfish, not that she would mind in that moment if she did. She would probably come to regret it in the future, though. The last time she had let need control her, she and Elijah had both thought that they would never have another chance to be together again...but now here they were. Her need was proving to be undefeatable so she didn't want to provoke it any further. She didn't want to be selfish, and she wouldn't be. Not if she could help it. But, it's as if fate had other plans now. Elijah had appeared at the passenger side window just as she was about to leave. Coincidence? It probably wasn't, but the needy part of Hayley wanted it to be. She wanted it to be fate so she'd have a reason to be selfish again and an excuse just in case she got caught.

"_Just stay calm, Hayley," _she coached herself.

The two of them sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Elijah finally spoke, breaking it.

"Why are you here, Hayley?" he asked in a quiet tone, as if he was afraid he'd reveal something through his tone that he didn't want to if he spoke any louder.

Hayley didn't hesitate to answer honestly, "I needed to see you."

She wanted to continue and say, "_And I need you," _but that would have meant that she had given herself over to being selfish, and for the love of God she couldn't...it would hurt too much, even though it hurt not to be selfish as well. Either way, it seemed like she was screwed. In which case, why not be selfish? It would hurt no matter what she said or did, so why not be honest?

"I just...I needed to see you and I need..." Hayley trailed off, fighting silently with herself.

No, she couldn't. Her need and selfishness were trying to take control and win her over by any means necessary. She was in the midst of an inward battle with herself that need was winning and reason was losing. Why had she even come here in the first place? This was just as bad if not worse than when she was back in New Orleans trying to keep herself from losing whatever was left of her sanity.

"What do you need, Hayley?" Elijah asked, momentarily breaking her free from her mind shackles.

"_Don't do it Hayley,"_ she told herself. "_You have to stay strong, be selfless."_

"Hayley? What do you need?" he asked again when she didn't answer him right away.

His question threw Hayley back into the midst of her battle between need and reason.

"_You need him!" _Her voice of need for him was screaming in one ear.

_"Don't tell him! It'll only make it worse on both of you!" _Her voice of reason was screaming in the other ear.

With every fiber of her being, she fought against her need and chose to side with reason. It wasn't easy, but she managed to do it.

"I just needed to make sure you were okay," Hayley blurted out before she could falter and side with need instead.

"Okay?" he asked, sounding confused. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Klaus mentioned telling you about how I was, you know..." Hayley deliberately said nothing else, not wanting to have to say the words.

Lucky for her, Elijah knew what she was talking about. "Yes, I do know," he told her. "What does that have to do with the real reason you're here?"

"The real reason?" Hayley reiterated. "I have no idea what you mean." She knew very well what he meant.

"You could have called me to talk about that," Elijah spoke matter-of-factly. "There's something else, a much deeper reasoning for you driving hours out of your way to come see me."

Hayley should have know that he'd see right through her lies. She knew that he knew her way too well not to. It was as if she was an open book to him. It was another one of the many reasons why she loved him. She didn't always have to be strong around him, and sometimes that was refreshing. She could be herself with him and most times didn't have to worry about feeling weak in his eyes.

"I told you before that I needed to see you," Hayley said, still looking straight ahead out the windshield.

Elijah waited a moment before replying, "That I believe, but the other one sounds like an excuse to avoid telling me the deeper reasoning for your surprise visit."

Hayley knew that there was no way around it. He wasn't going to let it go, and she couldn't really blame him. Why? Why did he have to know her so well?

"_This isn't good_," Hayley thought to herself. "_He's making it harder for me to fight it."_

Unbeknownst to Elijah, he was teaming up with her need for him and she was close to her breaking point. She was oh so close to giving into her need, her temptation and throwing caution to the wind. The extra pain and heartbreak that was sure to follow, be damned.

"I shouldn't have come," Hayley whispered, knowing that with his vampire hearing Elijah heard her clearly.

"Maybe not, but you did. You're here now," Elijah replied, reaching over to place his left hand on hers in her lap.

Hayley's eyes widened as she couldn't fight the need to look down at their hands joined together in her lap. "_Oh, yeah, I'm screwed. I am so majorly screwed,_" she told herself before turning her head and immediately meeting his gaze.

She stared at Elijah intently, her eyes glancing down at his lips on their own accord. His lips were parted, tempting her...practically inviting her to give in completely to her need for him. She continued to try to fight with whatever control she managed to still have but she was failing miserably at it. She was fighting a losing battle and she knew it, it was just a matter of time...she was fighting the inevitable.

Hayley took her attention off of his lips then and let her eyes flicker back up to meet his, she could just barely contain the gasp that so badly wanted to tear through her closed lips at that moment. Elijah was staring back at her intensely, once her eyes met his heavy-lidded gaze she couldn't tear them away from his even if she wanted to, which to be completely honest she didn't. There was something about the look in his eyes that was pulling her towards him, keeping her eyes glued to his all of a sudden.

A few moments passed by and Hayley wasn't exactly sure what was going on between her and Elijah. Did he feel the pull, too? She wasn't sure, but he wasn't making any move to stop whatever this was. All she knew was that they were staring at each other intensely and her eyes weren't going to look anywhere else until he was ready to break whatever hold he had on her and them.

It was only seconds later that his eyes repaid hers for their previous action, his attention was suddenly on her own lips. Hayley's breath hitched and she immediately swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Elijah," Hayley whispered before she could stop herself, it was almost as if she didn't have control over her own voice at that time which was actually a very likely possibility.

Elijah's eyes flickered back up to hers.

"Hayley," he whispered back as he darted his tongue out to wet his lips, a move not gone unnoticed by Hayley...a move that had her immediately calling the fight that she had been having with need and reason.

Reason, 0.

Need, all the points.

"_Son of a...well, there goes any control that I had left,_" she thought to herself before turning and launching herself over the center console, situating herself in his lap so that she was straddling him.

Hayley leaned forward but Elijah stopped her. She leaned back up and frowned at him. Was he really stopping her? Had she misread his part of the situation? Did he not want this again as much as she did? Hayley narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't get a word out.

Elijah reached a hand up and put a finger to her lips, effectively keeping her from saying anything.

"Tell me the real reason why you came here," Elijah said, the tone of his voice revealing just how much he wanted...no, needed to know.

At this point, Hayley was sure that she'd tell him anything that he wanted to hear. "I need _you,_" she admitted to him without any hesitation at all.

Those words awoke a fire in both of them.

In the next moment, they were meeting in the middle. Hayley wouldn't be able to ever tell which one of them made the actual first move to close the much too big gap between them, not that it mattered. All that mattered was that they were both here, together. They both poured every little bit of leftover built up tension from the last time they were together into the kiss that they could. It was no secret to them, or to anyone else for that matter, that despite having already been together once before...well, more like three days and more than once...but even after that they still had a lot of it to go around.

The last time they were together, they thought they'd never be able to be together again like this. This time, however, they both _knew _that this was the last time they'd be able to be together like this for a very long time. Not only that, but last time they had three days and two nights together. This time, they only had one last night together, which made what was happening now that much more bittersweet.

This...right now...was truly the last time they'd be able to be alone together, like this and alone together period. There was no way that they could be alone together once Hayley was married. They were alone together now and look what was happening. When something or someone is forbidden, it just makes you want it or them so much more. For both of them, that was the case more now than ever. After the ritual, they would be as forbidden as ever before and in a screwed up way, noble or not noble...selfless or selfish...they wouldn't be able to keep from wanting each other.

Elijah apparently came to his senses because he suddenly pulled away from her after a few minutes.

"We should not be doing this, Hayley," he said, being the voice of reason as he leaned back in the seat and rested his head against the headrest. "Letting this go any further will only succeed in make things harder for us than they already are."

Hayley had already let her need squash her own voice of reason minutes before and right now she was going to do whatever she had to do to convice Elijah to do the same.

"Please, don't start with this now, Elijah," Hayley panted. "This time around, this is truly our last night together," she reminded him, the sadness she felt revealed in her tone.

"I know it is," Elijah told her, reaching up to cup her face in his hands.

She looked down at him, meeting his gaze.

"It's for that exact reason that I am putting a stop to this now."

Hayley shook her head in a deviant manner. "I disagree," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "That exact reason is why we should just give in to our need for each other."

"Hayley, I need you to listen to me very carefully," Elijah spoke in a stern tone.

Hayley narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say anything.

"Believe me when I tell you that I want nothing more than to be with you for one more night." There was not an ounce of insincerity in his voice, he meant every word that he was saying. "But we can't be selfish again, especially not now."

"I hear what you're saying, Elijah. I truly do," she replied in understanding. "But, I don't care."

"Hayley, that's not..." Elijah started to argue.

Hayley put her hand up to silence him. "No, Elijah!" she exclaimed. "This is the last time either of us can actually make the decision to be selfish without having to suffer true consequences for doing so."

It was weird how quickly things could change. Hayley was only minutes before fighting against being selfish and now she was trying to convince Elijah to be selfish with her one last time. She was beginning to think that maybe fate really did have a part in all of this. While she had been fighting with her need and reason, fate was fighting with destiny...and it seemed like fate was winning that battle and not only that, fate seemed to be on her side.

"Please, just be selfish with me right now, Elijah," Hayley pleaded, putting on an expression that she hadn't used in a very long time...the puppy dog pout. Who could ever say no to the pout? "Just one last night, Elijah."

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_**There it is, chapter 2! **__**Let me know what you thought of it. Review, please?!**_

_**Do you think Elijah should give in to Hayley's pleas and be selfish with her one last time or should he stay noble and tell her no? Think about it before answering...this might be their true last night together. Let me know your take on the situation! ;)**_

_**_**Until next time!**_**_


	3. Things Do Not Always Go As Planned

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**All of your reviews and your amazing support for this story so far are a major driving force for me to continue it. Thank you all so much! Also, thanks for your input for this chapter. It was very helpful in deciding where I wanted to take this chapter. It truly means a lot to me!**_

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters from time to time. I only own the plot._

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**Chapter 3 - Things Don't Always Go As Originally Planned**

This was not going as quick and easy as Hayley had hoped it would. She was sure that detectives in interrogation had cracked the most hardened criminals with more ease than this, and they had way more to lose than Elijah did. Trying to convince Elijah to be selfish with her for just one last night was like trying to stop a boa constrictor from squeezing it's prey to death by poking it with a stick. It was damn near impossible and neither would listen to reason. Although, one wouldn't even understand and the other would understand but was just to damn stubborn to just give in easily.

"Why won't you just give in to your need?" Hayley asked, annoyed. "It would make things so much easier for the time being."

She wasn't sure which one of them she was actually trying to convince that to. She'd given into her need not that long before but she was still slightly cautious and wondering about whether it was actually the right move and whether or not it really would make things easier, even if just for the time being. Would things really be easier for now, or was that an illusion that would reveal itself to be just that, an illusion, the moment what might happened actually happened?

"It may, it may not," Elijah spoke, cautiously. "But, it wouldn't be the right thing to do."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I already told you that I know that. Hence, why I said please be selfish with me one last time, Elijah."

This was like pulling teeth from a werewolf for crying out loud, no pun intended...well, mostly.

"Just for a short period of time put yourself and your own needs first...like you did last time we were together," Hayley reminded him, trying every possible way to convince him to go along with her temporary madness.

"As you just pointed out, I already did that once," he told her, now reminiscing about the last time they were together.

"Exactly!" Hayley exclaimed as she threw her hands half way up in the air, careful not to smack them against the roof of the car. "What is so wrong with doing it one more time if you've already done it once before?"

Elijah sighed, exasperated.

Hayley was an open book to him, he should know full well that she wasn't going to give up until she had no choice in the matter. She wanted him to give in to his need along with her, and if she had to then she'd spend the entire night trying to convince him to do just that. Even if she were to fail in the end, at least she would've given it her all. In the long run, it would probably end up being a bad thing because by then Elijah would surely be at his own breaking point and a vicious cycle of them both needing and convincing and giving in to their need for each other and doing it all over again would no doubt be started.

"Oh, for the love of...will you stop being so damn noble all the time, Elijah?!" Hayley huffed out in frustration. "Be selfish with me!"

Elijah shook his head no, still too damn stubborn to stop fighting and just go with it. "It's better this way," he assured her.

Hayley scoffed at him as realization suddenly dawned on her. "Oh, no. Not this again." She shook her head in pure disgust. "Is this still all about the fear that you have of hurting me?" she asked, half guessing and wondering and half already knowing it was.

Elijah may not have been a completely open book to her, but he was more or less at least a half open book to her. She couldn't read him as well as he could read her, but she could read him just enough so that often times she could make guesses that turned out to be facts.

His silence in response to her question and aversion of his gaze from her was all she needed, she had her answer.

"We are not going to do this again," Hayley told him sternly. "You damn near gave up on us a month or so ago because you were afraid of hurting me, but I'll be damned if I let you go down that path again and make that stupid choice yet again."

"Hayley, I..." Elijah started to speak but Hayley wasn't going to hear any of it.

She cut him off and spoke instead, "By some screwed up miracle, this whole ritual situation helped at least get us back on similar pages. Before I told you about it that night, there was the distance before you told me why you basically abandoned me when I needed you the most and then there was you literally walking out on us after I begged you to let me help you..."

It was Elijah's turn to cut her off. "It no longer seemed to me after you told me about the ritual and we spent those two nights and three days together that you even cared about what I was going through any more. You seemed more focused on the ritual. Therefore, I let it be."

Hayley's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what she was hearing come from his mouth. "You are so unbelievable sometimes!" she hissed through clenched teeth, reaching over to push the unlock button on the doors. "You know damn well that I still cared...that I still care now!" she yelled at him, grabbing the handle and pushing the passenger side door open. "I just didn't think you wanted me to care after you shocked the hell out of me and told me to go ahead with the ritual! I mean, yes, Hope was the deciding factor in your decision, but it still surprised me none the less." Hayley quickly crawled off of Elijah's lap and stood up outside the car, turning and walking away.

Elijah immediately followed her, she heard him close the door and then felt his presence beside her.

"Hayley, wait," Elijah said, grabbing her arm in an attempt to stop her.

Hayley tore her arm from his grasp and spun around on her heels so that she was face to face with him. "With the way you've been acting ever since I was turned, you can't really blame me for acting the way I've been acting lately. And, if you do blame me for acting the way I'm acting then you're the biggest hypocrite that I know right now!" she screamed, thank goodness they were out in the middle of no where right now. "I care, and I want to be there for you but you are so dead set on me going through with this ritual that I just figured it'd be best if I didn't try to help you because if I did then actually going through with this ritual would be even more difficult than it already is for me!"

"That's not the case, Hayley, you know it's not," Elijah told her, finally managing to get a word in edge wise.

"Oh, I know it's not," Hayley agreed with him. "Everything you do and everything you decide always goes back to one thing and one thing only...your fear!" She shook her head and glared at him. "Deep down none of this is even about me...nor is it about Hope, you're just using her as an excuse! It's about you and your fear of what you did in the past that you refuse to let go of!" she exclaimed, accusingly.

Elijah narrowed his eyes at her in anger. "Don't you dare accuse me of using Hope as an excuse!" he growled at her. "I love her dearly and only want what is best for her just as much as you do!"

"I know that you love her as much as I do and want the best for her, but that still doesn't mean that you're not using her as an excuse!" Hayley snarked. "Other than yourself, you know she's the only other one I care enough about and so you use her, whether intentional or not, as an excuse for me to go through with the ritual so that you can continue to bottle your fear of hurting me up inside you!"

They both knew that everything she was saying was the God's honest truth, which is why Elijah didn't respond when he was given the chance while Hayley took an unnecessary breather.

"If you keep this up you're only going to succeed in being your own inevitable demise!" Hayley continued after a pause. "You can change that and keep it from happening if you would only own up to it and fight it. Fear is in your mind, you have the choice of whether to let it control you or to fight it and overcome it. From the look and sound of it...you're dead set on choosing the former."

She didn't mean to be such a bitch but just as Klaus had earlier that night Elijah had managed to piss her off and since she didn't have any furniture nearby to throw around, words and accusations were all she currently had in her arsenal of weapons to use.

They both stood silently just staring at each other for some time.

To think, had Elijah just given in like Hayley wanted him to before then they wouldn't be in the middle of a fight right now. Although, now that she took the time to think about it, she did notice that quite a bit of the tension she'd had left over was slipping away. Maybe this fight was exactly what they had both needed. Sex could only relieve a certain amount of the tension, they had to talk...in their case argue...out the rest of the tension, the non-sexual tension. In hindsight, this fight had been a long time coming and Hayley was relieved that it was happening now and that it seemed like it was most likely a short lived, straight to the point one that was already finished and slowly drifting into the past.

"Maybe, I should go," Hayley said, breaking the silence when after about a minute Elijah didn't. Her anger had died down quite a bit by now, not completely, just enough for her to speak without raising her voice.

When Elijah still made no attempt to say anything, Hayley sighed and started to walk passed him. She didn't get far before he had her arm in his grasp again, spinning her towards him. This time Hayley made no sudden movement to tear herself from his grasp. She spun around on her heels quickly, coming face to face with him as she had on many other similar occasions. This was a common occurrence between them and nine times out of ten it lead to something more happening.

"_Maybe he's come to his senses and decided to be selfish with me after all," _Hayley thought to herself, biting down on her bottom lip in anticipation as a response to feeling Elijah's breath on her lips.

What Elijah said next managed to break whatever tension was between them after their fight, and Hayley couldn't help but crack a smile. "Have you been wearing my jacket this entire time?"

Hayley laughed out loud, she couldn't help it. It was no surprise to her at all that Elijah could so quickly turn an argument into a regular conversation. In the entire year and a half or so that they'd known each other neither of them could ever seem to manage to stay mad at each other for too long when they were face to face...now when they were suffering through distance and mad at each other, that tended to be a different story.

"Are you really just now noticing that?" Hayley asked him, a hint of a grin on her face.

Elijah shrugged his shoulders. "I am not always the most perceptive person, you know," he answered.

"Oh, really? 'Cause you could have easily fooled me," Hayley joked.

Elijah smiled at her. "It looks good on you."

Hayley batted her eyes, playfully. "Yes, I know it does."

Elijah shook his head, chuckling.

There was an easy silence between them for the first time that night after that.

"You know, you're right," Elijah spoke up a few seconds later.

Hayley curiously raised an eyebrow.

"Quite a few of my recent decisions have been due to the fact that I have been letting my fear of repeating my past actions control me," Elijah clarified. "I want you to know that I do want what it best for Hope and that is my main reason for telling you to go through with the ritual. She is the number one priority for all of us."

Hayley stayed silent for the time being, but nodded her head to let him know she heard, understood, and agreed with what he was saying...for the most part, anyways.

"I want you to be happy as well and having Hope back for good will make you happy," Elijah continued, reaching out and pushing a strand of stray hair behind her ear.

Hayley wanted to interject and tell him that yes, having Hope back for good would make her happy but that she'd only be part of the way to being truly happy. Without being able to have them both, she wouldn't be able to be completely happy...there would always be something, someone missing..._him_. But she didn't say it out loud. She was afraid that if she did the words wouldn't come out and sound as okay as they did in her mind.

Instead she settled for sincerely and apologetically, saying, "I'm sorry that I threw Hope in your face like that. I know you love and care about her just as much as I do. That wasn't fair of me to do."

"There is no need for you to apologize to me. I know that you did not mean any of it," Elijah replied. "Mostly," he added as an afterthought, grinning slyly.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Hayley commented, sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him. "So what now?" she asked after a short moment of silence between them.

Elijah gave her a look of confusion. "What do mean?"

"I mean what I said, what now?" she reiterated. "We've cleared up most of the non-sexual tension between us so what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure." Elijah shrugged. "What do you want to do now?" he asked, a look of regret crossing his face the moment the words left his mouth.

Hayley grinned mischievously. "You know what I want to do now."

Elijah shook his head, rolling his eyes at her. "As persistent as ever."

"Are you really that surprised?" Hayley asked him, laughing slightly. "You didn't think I would just let it go, did you?"

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Elijah told her, sternly.

Hayley shrugged. "What's your point?" she wondered. "Like I said before, this is truly our last night together...we should make the best of it."

Elijah sighed, leaning forward and placing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry, but the answer was and still is no," he said as he pulled away from her.

Hayley frowned. "Damn you and your insane amount of self control!" she exclaimed, exasperated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Trust me, Hayley, you will thank me for this later," Elijah assured her.

Hayley pressed her lips into a thin line. "I will be the judge of that," she said. "_There has got to be something that I can do to get my way," _Hayley thought to herself.

"Come on, let's go inside."

"I actually think that it'd be best if I went back to New Orleans tonight," Hayley responded, as an ingenious idea began to form in her head.

"Nonsense, Hayley. It's late, you are staying here tonight," Elijah argued.

Hayley pretended to ponder his argument for a minute before she asked, "Is that what you want? You want me to stay the night?"

Elijah responded with a question of his own. "I did say that a second ago, did I not?"

"Alright, I will stay the night but first..." Hayley trailed off, giving him a smirk.

"First what?" Elijah wondered, an eyebrow raised out of curiosity brought on by the smirk she was giving him.

Hayley stood up on her tip toes, leaned forward, and whispered in his ear, "But first, you are going to have to catch me."

With those parting words, Hayley took of the jacket that she was wearing and discarded it on the ground. She would rather it get dirty than ripped to shreds by branches as she ran through the woods. She gave Elijah a "come and get me" grin and sped off in the direction of the woods.

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_**There's Chapter 3! Yes, I know, I'm such a tease. But it gives you another reason to look forward to chapter 4, am I right?! ;) **__**Let me know what you thought. Review, please?!**_

_**Just a small warning, Chapter 4 will be a bit smutty so the story rating will change from T to M. The Hayley in my head is insisting that she wants Elijah one more time before...well, you know...and she's gonna have him and there's nothing I can do to change her mind. I have the next chapter written now and I can assure you that it's not that descriptive so if you blink you could very well miss it.**_

_**If by chance you don't like reading even a small bit of here and there smut, chapter 5 will be rated T so you can started reading again when I post it. I'll be sure to let everyone know when a chapter will be rated M or rated T, if my muse or inner Hayley decide they want smut later on. I will say, though, if you skip the next chapter you'll be missing out on playful Haylijah...but I completely understand if you do skip it. Everyone has their own preferences.**_

_**_**Until next time!**_**_


	4. Just One More Night

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**I want to thank all of you who reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted the story last chapter. It really means a lot to me!**_

_**Just a quick reminder to all of you, this chapter is rated an easy M. It isn't hardcore smut, I promise you. Quite frankly, I think that if you blink you could very well miss it altogether. But still, I want to give you a proper warning so that no one is surprised when they come across it.**_

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters from time to time. I only own the plot._

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**Chapter 4 - Just One More Night**

It seemed as if trying to talk Elijah into giving into his need for her for just one more night was not going to work on its own. So, Hayley decided that the only other way to get him to give in was to show him, to tempt him, to seduce him into enjoying just one more night with her. There was no doubt about it that they both wanted it, needed it. But so far only Hayley had accepted the fact and given into it. If Hayley was correct in assuming, though, it wouldn't be much longer before she successfully persuaded Elijah to join her.

Hayley ran through the woods, ducking under and jumping over stray branches and tree limbs that were blocking the path she was taking, laughing as she went. She used her hybrid sense of hearing to track Elijah, who was closing in on her rather quickly. In her defense, she was purposely only running at half speed. She wanted Elijah to catch her as soon as possible. The sooner, the better because once he did then she could truly put her ingenious plan into play. She would get her way, it was just a matter of a short period of time and her plan being successful...which there was no doubt in her mind that it would be. She could be pretty sly when she wanted to be.

All of a sudden, she could no longer hear him behind her anymore. Hayley stopped running and did a complete 360 turn. With her wolf eyesight she could see through the darkness as if she had infrared vision but she couldn't see him anywhere...no vision, no sound. Well, she was the one who started this little game in the first place. However, her intentions had been to put her seduction plan into action as soon as she could. She couldn't do that, though, if Elijah wasn't anywhere to be found. He was unknowingly putting a damper in her scheme of seduction.

"_Wait a second, he's supposed to be chasing after me...not me chasing after him," _Hayley thought to herself.

Hayley tilted her head up towards the sky and looked up at the moon, judging by its position she deduced that it wasn't quite midnight yet. There was still at least five or so hours left of darkness and she was a hybrid now so she could miss a night of sleep. She could both play the game and go along with her plan instead of using the game simply as just a part of her plan.

"_Game on!" _she thought, smirking to herself.

Hayley surveyed her surroundings before taking off through the woods again. She made sure to keep her eyes and ears open for any sight or sound that would reveal Elijah's whereabouts. She made it just a few more feet before she heard the crackling of leaves coming from somewhere behind her. Hayley froze and turned around, eyes narrowing as she searched for the source of the noise. There were no signs of an animal or Elijah anywhere.

"_It's gotta be him,_" Hayley told herself.

She heard Elijah laugh somewhere behind her and turned in the direction that she had heard it. As if on queue, she heard him behind her again and turned back around in the direction she'd previously been facing. It continued on like that for at least a minute. Elijah would laugh, Hayley would turn around. Then he'd circle around so that he was behind her again and laugh so that she'd turn in that direction again. He was definitely screwing with her.

"I'm sure you find this very amusing!" she exclaimed, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest. "You know you're supposed to be chasing me, not the other way around!"

The only response she got was yet another laugh from him and then nothing.

Another minute or two passed by filled with complete and total silence. Elijah was taking the fun out of the game for her. No one ever wanted to be it, Hayley was no exception. Games like tag and hiding go seek were always much more fun if you were the one running away from the tagger, or hiding from the seeker.

Hayley was about to take off again when she suddenly sensed Elijah's presence right behind her. A few seconds later she felt his breath against the back of her neck. The feeling of warmth ironically sent a shiver down her spine. She stood there, unmoving, as still as a statue...letting him relish in his own sense of glory at thinking he caught her when, in fact, she was just about to rain on his parade.

"_Let the seduction begin,"_ Hayley thought to herself as she grabbed the hem of her shirt and starting lifting it up. "Elijah, I forgot to mention one very important aspect of this game."

There was a pause before he spoke.

"What would that be?" he asked, his mouth right next to her ear.

"The name of the game," she answered, turning her head slightly so that she was partially face to face with him.

He raised an eyebrow, revealing his curiosity.

Hayley leaned her head towards him and pressed her lips lightly against his. "Strip tag," she whispered against his lips before pulling away and lifting her arms over her head to remove her shirt.

She turned around, took a step back, and dropped the shirt on the ground in between her and Elijah.

The look on his face was priceless.

It was Hayley's turn to laugh now. "Oops," she said, feigning innocence with a shrug of her shoulders and a fake pout playing out on her lips.

"Hayley..." Elijah only managed to get her name out, his voice already sounding hoarse.

Hayley just stood there in her bra, smirking at him. "Now we can do this one of two ways," she started.

Elijah didn't say a word, he was too shocked that he had actually fallen for her scheme. For someone who knew her like an open book, he had majorly misread this page of it.

Hayley continued when he still said nothing. "One, we play the game as the name suggests...you catch me, I take off an article of clothing until you finally give in for just one last night," she paused, watching his face intently to see if she'd get any reaction other than shock. When she did not, she continued on. "Two, I can change the rules and you caught me so I take off all my clothes now until you finally give in for just one last night."

Elijah opened his mouth to say something but words continued to fail him in that moment.

"Either way you choose, I will win," Hayley told him. "Although, I think we can just be honest with ourselves and say that we both win no matter what you choose."

"Hayley, I...this..." Elijah managed to get some words out but not very many.

"Come on Elijah," Hayley urged. "How many times do I have to tell you that this is our last night to give in to each other and be selfish together? After this, it's..." Hayley caught herself and stopped talking before she could ruin the playful mood of the game so far to the point of no return.

She didn't have to say anything else for Elijah to understand where she was going with her words had she not caught and stopped herself.

"Choose an option, Elijah," Hayley breathed out.

Both options were good options, but Hayley was secretly hoping that he'd choose option one. As much fun as option two would be, option one would mean that the night would seem to last longer. Both options would work out to the same amount of time in the end. But at least by playing out option one, they could both fool themselves into thinking that they had more time together than they really did.

Hayley watched Elijah's face intently and judging by the wrinkles that formed on his forehead she knew that he was thinking intensely about what she had said and about each option she'd given him. His self control was faltering, it was just a matter of time before he gave in completely like she had already done back in the car.

"So which option is it going to be?" Hayley asked, getting impatient from having to wait for him to tell her what he'd decided.

The one word that came out of his mouth in response to her question gave her life, she'd finally gotten through to him.

"Run," he growled, his tone laced and dripping with want, lust, and need.

Her mouth turned up into a wide smile, she didn't have to be told twice. She did a 360 turn and ran off in the opposite direction from him, this time running as fast as she could. She wanted to make the night seem to last as long as she possibly could, and to do that she had to give him a run for his money. He would not be able to catch her so easily.

Hayley ran until she came across a tree big enough to hide at least three of her behind it. She circled around to the other side of it and leaned back against it, completely still and silent. Being a hybrid definitely had its perks. She didn't have to worry about her out of breath panting giving her whereabouts away because breathing was no longer a necessity for her. She could still breath around humans so they didn't get suspicious, but when she wasn't around them and didn't want to then she didn't have to. It was a great ability to have, especially while in the midst of a game of strip tag.

Hayley leaned back more against the tree as she listened for any signs that Elijah was somewhere nearby. She winced silently to herself as parts of the tree's bark dug into her back, reminding her that she was only wearing a bra from the waist up. Another perk of being a hybrid now, she healed quickly. Another great ability to have when playing strip tag, healing quickly meant that she didn't have to worry about Elijah picking up on the scent of her blood and being clued in about her whereabouts.

A sudden noise made Hayley perk up. She listened closely for a reoccurrence of the sound, realizing upon hearing it again that it was coming from the other side of the tree and it was very close. Had Elijah found her? Hayley could have sworn that the tree was a great cover, hence the reason she'd chosen it to stop behind and assess her surroundings. Should she look and see if the noise was, in fact, being made by Elijah? After giving it some thought, Hayley decided to risk it and leaned over to slowly peak around the tree.

Her eyes widened instantly. "_Shit!_" she exclaimed, retracting her head from view. "_Yeah, it was him."_

Hayley was about to run off again but Elijah caught her before she could get away.

"That's not fair, you only caught me because I poked m..."

Hayley started objecting to having been caught but didn't get to finish as Elijah's mouth was suddenly slanted against hers, effectively silencing her. She was no longer objecting to why she had gotten caught. If anything, she was more than happy that she'd given her position away, allowing him to catch her.

They battled back and forth for dominance of their kiss, which Hayley would forever maintain that she eventually let him win control over in order to move the game alone. Elijah would most likely beg to differ, but in the end as she was used to, she was sure she would get the last say in the matter.

Hayley had been so caught up in the kiss that she didn't realize that Elijah had removed another article of her clothing. It wasn't until she felt a slight breeze on her legs that she realized that Elijah had somehow managed to get her jeans off of her without ripping them...or taking off her boots.

She pulled away from him, giving him a look of pure confusion. "How did you manage to take those off without ripping them or taking my boots off?"

Elijah only smirked at her.

Apparently, she would be forever wondering how he'd done it because it didn't seem like he was going to tell her.

"Fine then, be that way." She rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her. "Don't tell me."

Hayley took off again before he realized what she was doing. She ran for at least a minute before stopping again. Despite her head start, Hayley turned around and smacked into Elijah.

"No fair! I had a head start!" Hayley exclaimed. "How did you catch up so quickly?"

"Older, wiser, faster," Elijah replied, earning an intense mock glare from Hayley.

"Shut..." Hayley started to mutter.

She found herself cut off once again by Elijah's mouth on hers, not that she could bring herself to care that she couldn't seem to get more than one sentence finished per time she got caught by him. If this was how he'd cut her off then he could cut her off anytime he wanted to, right now or anytime.

Hayley had enough presence of mind this time to feel Elijah's hand working behind her on her bra clasp. She reached behind her and smacked his hand away. He pulled away from her, giving her a questioning look.

"I should tell you that's there's another thing that I forgot to mention before...I'm not the only one losing a piece of clothing each time you catch me," Hayley informed him, smirking.

Elijah chuckled, shaking his head. "Are you making up rules as you go?"

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, maybe," she answered. "Are you objecting?"

"You tell me," he replied, huskily paired with a look on his face that had Hayley launching herself at him, taking him by surprise and knocking him down to the dirty ground with her on top of him, straddling him.

"When you talk using that tone of voice, it makes me so hot that I just..."

Hayley cut her own self off this time, leaning down and capturing his lips with hers in a passionate but very needy kiss. She could feel Elijah grinning against her mouth in response to what she'd just told him. She kissed a path from his mouth to his neck, quickly working his belt off and throwing it somewhere away from them, her hands already working on removing his pants next.

As it turned out, option one was never meant to last very long. It was still the best option, though, since option two actually would have lasted for even less time than option one. Hayley knew that as fact now that she'd so quickly decided to just forget the game and skip right to the after party.

"What about the game?" Elijah had the nerve to ask her.

"Screw the damn game!" Hayley exclaimed, anxiously working to rid him of his pants. "You know a little help would be nice," she told him. "I want you now!"

"Whatever you say," he replied, purposely in the tone that Hayley had just confessed to and proved that she became a hot mess over.

"Damn you!" she exclaimed, seeking out his lips with hers again.

The next minute or so was completely chaotic...hands were roaming everywhere, clothes were flying every which way. It was a tangled mess of limbs as they rushed to remove all of their clothing. Last to be removed were Hayley's boots. She reached behind her to take them off, but Elijah stopped her.

Hayley stopped to look at him curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave them on," he told her.

Hayley was momentarily shocked by his request. She had not pegged him as the type who would have such a fetish, any fetish at all really.

"I wasn't aware that you were the fetish type." Hayley gaped down at him.

"I am usually not," he replied as he stared up at her.

"But..." she started to say.

"Only with you," he confessed, an easy smile set on his lips.

Every time Hayley thought she knew everything there was to know about Elijah, he always managed to prove her otherwise. She was speechless for a moment before finally finding her words.

"Okay then," she said, nodding her head.

That settled that, her boots were staying on.

"You never do cease to amaze me." Hayley smiled at him before suddenly switching to serious mode. "It's a shame we won't be able to have moments like this anymore after tonight."

Elijah took the initiative and rolled them over so that he was the one on top.

"I don't want this to be our last night together," Hayley admitted, staring up into his eyes.

"I don't either," Elijah agreed. "But, it is. It has to be. We can't..."

"I know, but..." she started to protest.

Elijah leaned down and silenced her with a short and sweet kiss. "No buts, Hayley," he softly reprimanded her as he pulled back from her. "We both know that this is how it has to be."

"I wish it didn't have to be like this," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes and trailing slowly down her face.

"So do I," Elijah replied sincerely as he used his thumbs to wipe away her tears.

Hayley reached up, cupping his face in her hands.

Elijah placed one of his hands on top of hers and traced the outline of her face with the other one.

She smiled at the contact, leaning up to press her lips softly to his.

If it were up to her she would never leave this moment. She'd stay here in the middle of the woods for the rest of eternity, just her and Elijah. But sadly it wasn't really up to her. All she had and would have for the next hundred years or so was this moment right here, right now. She was going to make the best of it, of what time she and Elijah had left together. And she knew just how to do it.

"Make love to me, Elijah," she whispered against his lips.

Elijah smiled and replied, "Gladly."

Their mouths still intact, Elijah reached down and used his hand to slowly guide himself to her entrance. He paused and pulled back to stare into Hayley's eyes, asking for one final piece of confirmation that this was what Hayley wanted. They both knew it was what they both wanted, but he was such a gentleman in any and all situations and he wanted to make absolute sure that Hayley's mind was made up.

Hayley was about to nod her head as confirmation when she thought of something else. She didn't know when or if she'd ever be able to tell him any other time so she decided she'd tell him now...no matter how cliché it seemed for her to do. Unlike their last times together, this time was their first time actually making love...going slow. It seemed like the right time to tell him, the situation seemed fitting.

Hayley smiled up at him and took a deep breath before letting the words pour out of her mouth, "I love you, Elijah."

Elijah shared the same smile as her. "I love you, Hayley."

They locked eyes as he pressed forward slowly entering her, filling her inch by inch.

"Elijah," Hayley breathed out.

"Hayley," Elijah whispered back, gently stroking her face.

They kept their eyes locked together the entire time as they made love, moving together as one. They only had tonight and they both silently agreed to make the best of it...together.

How was Hayley ever supposed to truly give him up, especially after this...after tonight?

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**_Alright, there you all have it, chapter 4! I hope you all enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a really fun chapter to write! Be sure to let me know what you all thought. I always love reading your input! Review, please?!_**

**_Until next time!_**


	5. Making Every Second Count

_**Hey everyone!**_

**_I want to tha_****_nk everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted the story last chapter. It means a lot!_**

**_I hope you are here for domestic, fluffy Haylijah. The upcoming chapters will be angsty so let's enjoy the current happiness, shall we? This is the longest chapter so far! Enjoy!_**

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters sometimes. I only own the plot._

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Making Every Second Count**

Hayley groaned as her eyes fluttered open, the bright sun temporarily blinding her as a bright ray of it slipped through a crack in the window shades. She rolled over onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. Every part of her ached, but in a delicious way. With the fact that it was indeed their true last night together looming over them, she and Elijah had very much made every second they had left together count. If only the trees and everything else in the woods could talk, oh the many things they would say. True Blood had nothing on the night she and Elijah had experienced.

Speaking of Elijah, Hayley realized that he wasn't in the bed with her. A weird feeling that Hayley wasn't sure of suddenly overwhelmed her. It took her only a few seconds to realize what it was. She recognized it as the feeling that she had felt when she'd first woken up as a hybrid. It was the awful feeling of emptiness...of longing for something, of longing for someone. Hayley knew that Elijah was close by and yet she still felt empty because close by wasn't with her.

"Oh, god. I've definitely made this that much harder on myself," Hayley thought out loud.

Hayley didn't regret what she'd done, she'd never regret it. But that didn't change the fact that she'd been right before giving into her need and Elijah had been right as well before she'd made him cave, things would've been easier had she not pressed on and gotten Elijah to cross that line with her.

Well, hindsight is 20/20.

"My life is going to suck more now," Hayley said, shaking her head and sighing.

Needing to find a distraction from her thoughts, Hayley glanced over at Elijah's side of the bed and noticed that it was neatly made. It was a good enough observation to distract her momentarily from her feeling of emptiness. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh at it. Leave it to Elijah to make his side of the bed even when she was still in it. He always had to be so damn neat and tidy.

Hayley smiled as she threw the cover off of her and swung her legs off of the side of the bed. She stretched her arms over her head again as she stood up and walked over to the window, pulling the shades up. She sighed as she stared out into the wide open farm land. It was so peaceful, quiet. She never wanted to leave, she just wanted to stay here forever...with Elijah, and with Hope. But that was just a pipe dream. New Orleans was her home and she wanted it to be Hope's home, too...no matter how amazing this place was.

Hayley closed the shades back and turned around when an unbelievable aroma made its way to her nose. All cooking smelt the same, usually, but there was just something about Elijah's cooking that Hayley could literally pick it out of a line up. It could be the most common food dish, yet she would be able to tell the difference. It would seem weird to anyone else, but not to her. To her, it was just another thing to add to the list of reasons why she couldn't deny that she loved him even if she wanted to, which was not the case, of course. She'd scream it from the rooftop of the tallest building she could find if she had to. She loved Elijah, and she would never even dream of denying it.

"Do I smell a cheesy corn beef hash and mushroom omelet?" Hayley asked, her tone of voice laced with excitement as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Her mouth practically watered as she said the words.

Elijah chuckled from where he stood at the stove. "Your favorite," he answered.

"You remembered." Hayley grinned as she walked over to stand next to him.

He glanced over at her and smiled. "How could I not? It's an interesting combination, hard to forget."

"Well I am a very interesting person," Hayley teased.

"That you are." Elijah chuckled, playing along.

Hayley reached over to grab a mushroom from the pan but Elijah smacked her hand away with the spatula before she could. Hayley stared at him, a shocked expression taking over her face. Had he really just done that to her?

"Wait until it's ready," he told her, a hint of a grin on his face.

Hayley mock glared at him. "But I'm hungry now," she whined, feigning impatience. "Just one mushroom," she said, giving him a playful pout.

"Keep whining and you won't get any of it," Elijah teased her.

Hayley wasn't liking this game much anymore.

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, you can be quite the meanie sometimes."

Elijah looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Meanie?"

"It was the nicest thing I could think of to say." Hayley shrugged, taking the opportunity to steal a mushroom while he was occupied with looking at her. "Ha!" she exclaimed, popping the mushroom into her mouth and giving him a look of triumph.

Elijah shook his head. "That was a sneaky move," he said, turning back to the stove and turning the burner off.

"I'm full of them," Hayley informed him.

"Yes, well I am, too."

Hayley opened her mouth to ask him what he meant by that but before she could get a single word out, her mouth was happily preoccupied by his...which in turn actually answered the question that she hadn't gotten the chance to get out. Not that she minded in even the slightest. His kisses always managed to take away her unnecessary breath, but again she didn't mind at all.

"I love your sneaky moves so much better than mine," Hayley confessed as she reluctantly pulled away from him after hearing someone, who she assumed was Camille, clear their throat.

Elijah nodded his head, agreeing with her.

Hayley turned around, smiling. "Hi, Cami," she said politely.

"Hayley," Cami replied. "Are we interrupting something?" she asked, her use of the word "we" referring to her and Hope, who she was holding in her arms.

"Um, yeah, sort of," Hayley blurted out before she could stop herself.

"No, you aren't," Elijah said at the same time as her.

Hayley and Elijah both turned to look at each other, giving each other a "what was that answer all about" look. They had both been under the impression that they were on the same page, answer wise. But then were surprised when they both answered with completely different answers.

"Which one is it?" Cami wondered, an amused expression clear as day on her face. "Yes or no?"

Hayley waited to see if Elijah would answer, but he didn't. Well, she sure didn't know the right answer to that question. They both obviously had different answers, either one could be the right one.

"Okay, why don't I answer for you?" Cami said as more of a statement than a question.

Hayley and Elijah both looked back at her.

"We are interrupting something," Cami decided after thinking the possiblities over. "And since this is probably the last time you two can spend time like this together, Hope and I will go for a drive...maybe even many drives...around the county so that you two can spend the last few hours or so to yourselves."

"Cami, you do not have to do that," Hayley finally spoke up, walking over to her and taking Hope from her.

"It isn't necessary for you to do that for us," Elijah said, agreeing with Hayley as he moved to set the table.

Cami smiled, waving her hand in a dismissive move. "I insist, it's the least I can do for you two right now."

Hope cooed at Hayley as she kissed her on the forehead.

"Hi there, baby girl," Hayley said with a grin.

"I will just go get my keys and the diaper bag and then we will go be on our way," Cami said, looking from Hayley and Hope to Elijah and then back once more before turning and going to retrieve her keys.

Hayley waited until Cami was out of ear shot to say what she wanted to say. "She's a great person to have around, isn't she?" Hayley asked, looking over at Elijah.

Elijah nodded. "It has been nice having her around lately," he admitted.

"So do you ever think Klaus will get his head out of his ass and go for it with her?" Hayley asked bluntly.

Elijah's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her right.

"I didn't stutter." Hayley laughed. "It's obvious that deep down he likes her...like really, really likes her," she pointed out, nonchalantly while Hope played with her finger. "I mean, otherwise, he wouldn't have brought her here and let her know the truth about Hope."

Elijah's look of shock almost immediately turned into a scowl.

"Do not dare go there," Hayley warned, knowing exactly what that scowl was all about. "It's not the same thing and you know it," she told him. "Don't let your jealousy, which is extremely unnecessary by the way, ruin our last few normal and happy hours together."

Elijah looked over at her, scowl still on his face.

"Elijah," she spoke his name in a tone laced with warning. "I swear I will leave right now," she threatened, feigning being serious about it.

There was no way she was actually going to leave. Well, maybe there was. If he was going to go there then she would leave. She would absolutely hate it but there was no point sticking around if they were just going to fight for the rest of the time they were together. Hayley would much rather leave then and have good memories of the night and morning as opposed to leaving later and having all the good memories overshined by bad ones.

Thankfully, her fake threat seemed to work well. The scowl quickly faded from Elijah's facial features, replaced by a sincere apologetic expression. Hayley sighed, relieved that she didn't actually have to carry out her fake threat. It was bad enough that she was already feeling empty when she wasn't in the same room as him. If she had to actually leave now...ugh, she didn't even want to think about it.

"I am sorry for bringing it up," Elijah apologized. "There is no need for you to leave."

Hayley stared at him for a while, letting him stew a bit in anticipation to her response, before she nodded her head in acceptance. "Apology accepted."

"Alright, I've got everything," Cami said returning to the kitchen, diaper bag over one shoulder and her keys in the same hand.

"I appreciate you doing this for us, Cami," Hayley smiled a sincere smile as she walked over to her and handed Hope, after giving her a kiss, telling her she loved her, and saying goodbye, to her. "Right, Elijah?" she said, turning her head to look back at him.

He nodded his head. "Of course, we both appreciate you doing this for us."

"You are both very welcome." Cami grinned, knowingly. "You two have fun now."

With that, Cami turned and walked back out of the room.

No sooner had Hayley heard the front door of the house close, both car doors open and close, and the engine start did she launch herself into, it seemed they both had the same idea, Elijah's open arms.

"Now where were we?" Hayley asked, wrapping her arms around Elijah's neck and legs around his waist.

He grinned, returning the favor and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I think we were about to christen the kitchen."

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "Were we now?" she asked. "Even when Cami and Hope were still here?"

"Would it be wrong of me to admit that I hadn't even thought of them at that time?" he inquired.

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. "If so, then I'd be wrong, too," she admitted.

"Then, once again, we will be wrong together," Elijah replied.

Hayley smiled in return. "Now you're beginning to catch my drift without needing my convincing." She laughed. "Alright, we've got a few more hours before I have to leave, let's make it count."

The night was done and over with but they still had the entire morning to make every second count, and just as they did during the night...they would most definitely make it count.

**~NeedYou~**

Hayley was sure she was in heaven. If not, then this was the closest she would ever get to it. If only every night and day could be like this. She was spoiling herself way too much by still being here. But she couldn't bring herself to want to leave, even despite knowing that the longer she stayed here...with Elijah, the harder it would be to leave. Not only that but it'd be even harder not to cave in again the second need got in the way and told her that she needed to see him or else the pain of her needing him would never go away. She needed a distraction, and the bed being made was not going to work for a second time.

Hayley sat up in bed and looked around, once again finding Elijah no longer there and his side of the bed made up. After christening the kitchen and a few other rooms that they hadn't gotten to the first time they were together, since Hope had been in the house that time, they had both passed out from exhaustion. Yes, exhaustion. That in itself and the fact that she was a hybrid and he was an original vampire, neither tiring easily...it spoke volumes about just how much christening the two of them had been doing all morning. Neither of them were kidding about making every last second they had together count.

"Elijah?!" Hayley called out, getting out of bed and walking out of the room. "Elijah?!" she called again as she walked down the hallway, listening and looking for any sign of him.

As she neared the middle of the hall, she could hear the sound of running water. Was he showering without her? Why didn't he wake her up and ask her to join him? What happened to making every last second they had together count? Just two more questions and Hayley realized she'd have all five of the w's checked off the check list that up until now she wasn't even aware that she'd started in her head.

Hayley paused in front of the bathroom door, which was cracked open just enough for her to be able to see the mirror. The steam from the shower had fogged up the mirror, but Hayley was able to find a clear spot on it to look through and see what she wanted to see...Elijah in the shower. The shower curtain was one of those that she couldn't see completely through but she could just barely see a faint silhouette of Elijah on the other side of it.

She couldn't help but feel slightly put out for not being in there, too.

Hayley smirked to herself as she suddenly thought of something sneaky that she could do to him. "He should have woken me up and asked me to join him," she thought cheekily to herself as she backed away from the door and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

She grabbed a cup from the cabinet and used the ice machine on the fridge door to fill the cup up with ice. This would most definitely get his attention, there was no doubt in her mind about it. How would he react to the ice? Honestly, it could go either way but there was only one way to know for sure.

Hayley walked back upstairs, cup of ice in hand, and tip toed back to the bathroom...not that she needed to tip toe. She had called his name twice only minutes before and he hadn't answered her. She'd even stood at the door for a minute or two and he hadn't sensed her presence. He was too preoccupied with his shower, and likely still under the impression that she was asleep.

Hayley bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing and giving herself away as she stealthily pushed open the bathroom door and made her way inside. She shut the door back to where it was before and slowly walked over to the curtain, making sure that her cover didn't get blown before she could make her final move.

She watched his shadow closely through the shower curtain to make sure she wouldn't miss her target, otherwise her ingenious plan would be a complete bust. Once she was sure she'd be able to make her target, without hesitation, Hayley reached up and dumped the ice into the shower.

The moment the ice cascaded down on him, Hayley lost it. It didn't help that the ice surprised him enough that he actually used some very colorful language that Hayley had never heard him use before in the entire time that she'd known him. She couldn't not laugh for anything in the world at that point. Hayley fell to the ground, holding her stomach as she laughed hard enough that it was beginning to hurt all over, but it was the kind of pain that for a little while she didn't mind it.

"Hayley!" Elijah exclaimed, yanking the curtain to the side so he could look out at her.

"You should see your face right now!" Hayley laughed, looking up at him from her place on the floor. "It's priceless!"

Elijah shook his head. "It's not that funny," he scolded her.

"Maybe not me pouring ice on you but the colorful language that came afterwards...now that was funny," Hayley told him as she finally managed to get herself under control and slowly stood up. "I never knew you had it in you to talk like that. Naughty, naughty," she teased, waving her finger at him. "But that is what you get for showering without me."

Elijah's jaw dropped slightly. "Is that what this is all about?" he asked, slightly confused.

"I had to teach you a lesson somehow," she answered, nonchalantly.

Elijah was silent for a minute or two, thinking quietly to himself. "And I you," he finally spoke up.

"What?" Hayley asked him, confused.

He smirked at her. "There's a lesson for you to learn to."

Hayley's eyes widened and she started to ask, "Wh..."

She didn't get to finish her question before the shower curtain was flung open just enough for Elijah to grab hold of her and pull her into the shower with him. Hayley squealed as the water poured down over her, soaking every inch of her body instantly.

"Happy now?" Elijah asked her when she turned around to face him. "Now who is doing all the laughing?" he snarked, chuckling.

"I can't believe you did that!" she exclaimed repositioning herself so that water didn't get into her eyes, which were still as wide as saucers.

"I can't believe you did what you did," Elijah mocked her in response, glaring halfheartedly at her.

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest and halfheartedly glared right back at him.

They stood that way for God only knows how long before Hayley finally spoke.

"Should we call a truce?" she asked, not saying that they should because that would admit that she was giving in...and that's certainly not what she was doing.

"I'd say it would probably be best if we did," he answered, shaking his head.

Hayley nodded back. "Alright then, truce," she said, reaching out and offering him her hand to settle it.

Elijah looked at her, then down to her hand, and back up to her.

"What?" Hayley asked, slightly puzzled by his actions.

He laughed. "Sealed with a handshake?" he questioned.

"Um..." Hayley trailed off, not sure how to respond.

Alright, so maybe a handshake wasn't the right way to settle this truce. But how then? Hayley thought about it before it dawned on her.

"Oh, okay. I get it," she said to him. "Sealed with a kiss, not a handshake."

Elijah smiled. "Now we are on the same page."

Hayley shook her head. "Not yet...not exactly."

"How so?" he inquired.

Hayley looked down at herself, Elijah's eyes following her own.

"Ah, I see," he said. "You're still wearing my shirt while I'm wearing nothing," he added, pointedly. "You're right, we are not on the same page."

"Well, are you planning on doing something about that?" Hayley asked him. "I mean, I would do it myself...but wouldn't it be more fun if you did it instead?"

Elijah smiled, knowingly. "It would, wouldn't it?"

Hayley nodded. "It would, it really would."

Elijah dropped to his knees. "I should get to it."

"Yes, you should," Hayley agreed, smiling back.

**~NeedYou~**

Every great thing must come to an end. Why did time always have to fly when fun was being had? Truth be told, the fact makes fun bittersweet. It is sweet because it is fun, it is bitter because it never lasts...not for as long as you want it to. It completely, utterly sucks.

"I don't want to go back to New Orleans now," Hayley said, leaning back from where she had her head lolling against Elijah's neck to look up at him.

She was sitting comfortably in his lap, snuggled against him on the porch swing as he used his feet and legs to slowly push it back and forth. Once again, Hayley found herself wanting to just stay here at the safe house with Elijah and Hope forever. But again, she was well aware that it was just a pipe dream for her.

"Is it too late for me to change my mind?" Hayley asked him, honestly.

"If there was any other way, I'd say no," Elijah answered her sincerely, leaning forward to place a kiss on her forehead. "But, there isn't any other way to fix things that we know of...so unfortunately, I have to say yes."

Hayley frowned. "I was afraid that you'd say that."

"I'm sorry, Hayley," Elijah apologized.

Hayley gave him a look of confusion. "Why are you apologizing?"

Elijah shrugged his shoulders. "I wish there was another way is all."

Hayley sighed, placing her head back into the crook of his neck. "I know, I wish there was, too."

She felt like, at any second, she was going to just break down into tears. But, she did not want to do that. Not now, not in front of Elijah. She didn't want him to see or hear her cry because it would prove him right about what he said the night before. Hayley knew that if he knew anything at all of her tears that he would make himself feel guilty for not trying harder to stick to his guns and say no to her during the night.

"I think I should get going now," Hayley forced herself to say.

Her tears were beckoning to fall and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep them at bay. She had to get out of there, away from Elijah before the tears broke through the dam that was close to bursting. Hayley wouldn't be able to bare leaving all the while knowing that he was feeling guilty. It was just easier to leave now before that happened because she wasn't sure she'd be able to leave at all if that's what it came down to.

"That's probably best," Elijah agreed, his voice laced with his own pain that he couldn't hide no matter how hard he tried to.

Hayley made no attempt to get up, even though she knew that she should.

"Okay, I changed my mind," she said after a while. "I am gonna stay here with you."

"Hayley, you know that isn't an option." Elijah sighed. "Let us not make this any harder on the both of us than it already is."

Hayley knew he was right, but she did not care. She wanted to stay and damn it, she would stay.

"I'm staying," she insisted. "And you can't make me do otherwise," she added defiantly as an afterthought.

Elijah sighed, slightly exasperated. "I guess this is how you are playing it then?"

Hayley nodded her head against his neck.

She felt him shake his head and heard him mutter something to himself, but even with her super hearing it was too quiet for her to actually make out the words. "Alright, fine," he said, and suddenly he was standing up carrying her bridal style.

"What are you doing?" she asked, lifting her head up to look at him, confused.

Elijah didn't answer, he just walked into the house and over to the table where Hayley had thrown her keys. He snatched them up and turned back to retreat back out of the house.

Hayley's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what he was doing. She began struggling against him to get free but he only tightened his grip on her in response.

"Elijah, put me down!" she yelled, continuing to struggle against him as hard as she could but still to no avail. "Damn it, Elijah!"

"Hayley, stop struggling!" Elijah ordered in a tone that she hadn't heard him speak to her in before, and for some strange reason she felt the need to follow that order.

She stopped struggling against him, shocked by his tone and by how she'd listened to him so easily.

Elijah kept walking until he was at the driver's side door of Hayley's car. Only then did he put her down as she had requested, more like demanded, that he do moments before.

Hayley stared at him, still fighting to keep her tears at bay. "Elijah," she said ever so quietly.

"Hayley," he said back in the same hush, hush tone as he reached forward to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear and then cupped her face with the same hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Please do not make me go back," she whispered to him, pleading with him. "The ritual isn't for another couple of days," she reminded him. "I can stay until then."

Elijah shook his head no.

"But I..." Hayley started to protest, but Elijah cut her off.

"It was only for one more night," Elijah told her. "And day," he added as an afterthought.

Hayley cracked a small smile at his last two words, but it didn't last.

Elijah opened her car door for her. "Now it's time for you to go back to New Orleans so that we can both have a few days to try to figure out where to go from here."

Hayley wanted to argue with him some more but she knew it was a moot point. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his tone of voice...he had made up his mind and this was it. He wasn't giving in no matter what she did to try to get him to give in to what she wanted.

She swallowed hard, realizing that she had no choice but to really leave. She gave him a sad smile before pulling away from him and turning to get into her car. Before she could, though, he grabbed her arm and twisted her back to him...right into a kiss, a kiss that screamed of love, pain, and sadness all wrapped up into one passionate, hard to admit that's what it was, goodbye kiss.

When they pulled away, they both stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Neither of them wanted to leave the other, but they didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I love you, Hayley," Elijah whispered to her.

A single tear managed to escape her right eye and trail down her cheek, Elijah brushed it away with his thumb.

"I love you, too," she replied, sadly.

Hayley gave him a sad smile as she turned back again to get in her car, this time Elijah did not stop her. She sat down and closed the door, placing the key in the ignition and starting the car. It was then that she remembered something. She quickly rolled down her window.

"Wait!" she called out to get Elijah's attention.

Elijah stopped and turned back towards her. "Yes?"

"Your jacket," Hayley said.

"Right," Elijah replied, moving to take off the one he was wearing.

"The one I was wearing last night," Hayley clarified.

Elijah stopped mid undressing. "Is there a difference?"

"That one is the one you gave me when we first met," Hayley reminded him, smiling at the distant memory.

Elijah smiled. "Of course," he said. "Let me go get it."

As Hayley sat there, waiting for him to return, the reality of the situation began to set in. In only a few short minutes, Hayley would be driving away from him, from them. The thought made her want to curl up in a ball and stay that way, waiting for this awful nightmare to end. She was suddenly envious of all the normal people who got to spend their lives with the person they loved, were in love with. Why couldn't she be one of those normal people? Hell, she didn't even have to be normal...she just wanted to be able to be with Elijah, the one she loved...the one she was in love with. Was that really too much to ask for?

"Hayley," Elijah said, suddenly breaking her away from her thoughts.

Hayley shook her head back into reality and turned to face him. "Thank you," she smiled a small smile at him as she reached through the window for his jacket that he'd retrieved for her. "Both of them?" she asked him, curiously, after realizing that he had handed her the one she'd worn the night before as well as the one he was just wearing.

Elijah nodded his head. "Two is better than one," he told her. "Besides, they're both sentimental in their own ways now."

Hayley grinned. "That is true," she agreed, taking them from him and placing them nicely in the passenger's seat.

"And one of them just so happens to have my scent more prominent on it," Elijah added on to his previous statement as an afterthought.

It took everything Hayley had in her not to giggle like a school girl at how happy she was about him pointing that out and giving her that jacket for that very reason. She was beginning to think she was a druggie, his jackets being her drug of choice. Not that she would rather have it any other way.

Hayley sighed. "Alright, well then...I guess I'll see you around sometime," she said, looking up at him with a sad smile, her tears were still fighting with her to be let out but she managed to keep them in just a bit longer.

"Yes, sometime," Elijah replied, agreeing with her.

She really did not want to leave him, not ever. Oh, what she wouldn't give to just be able to stay here with him, the list was a very short list. But, of course, life had other plans...plans that Hayley was beginning to detest with every fiber of her being.

Elijah bent over, bracing his arms on the window ledge of the car door and leaned into the car so that he and Hayley were face to face. "Do not, no matter what, ever forget that I love you and I always will," he told her, pressing one last kiss to Hayley's lips.

"I would not even dream of it," Hayley replied, speaking truthfully as she returned his kiss.

Hayley had to literally force herself to put her car in drive. It had to have been one of the hardest things she had done in quite a while.

"I love you, too, Elijah. And don't you ever forget it either," Hayley reiterated his words, playfully back to him.

"Not in a million years," he assured her as he leaned back and backed away from the car.

With one last look in his direction, Hayley drove off, reluctantly leaving him behind. She didn't make it very far down the road before she had no choice but to pull over and give in to the tears that wanted so badly to fall from her eyes. The second she pulled over to the side of the road, she reached over for the jackets that Elijah had given her. She put the one that she'd worn the night before on, and held the one he'd been wearing just minutes before tightly against her. He was right, she could smell him all over it.

The reality of the entire situation had set in completely. This was it. It felt as if her heart had been shattered into millions of pieces by a hammer when it dawned on her that she would probably never get to say those three special words to Elijah ever again. Not in this lifetime, anyways. The possibility of her ever being truly happy was now gone...that very possibility, along with her heart, would forever and always be wherever Elijah was.

* * *

**_Alright, there you have it! Chapter 5! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I almost couldn't make myself stop writing because it was that enjoyable to write. Let me know what you all thought. Review, please?!_**

_**I like where this ended so I'm going to go ahead and call this the end of the story.**_


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